May Heavy Equip Rental and Sales isn’t letting the industry norm tell it how to run its service department.

The rental store, with locations in North and South Carolina, has opened its shop and technicians to equipment that isn’t part of its rental fleet.

“We’re now capable of providing the same service to customers who aren’t renting from us,” said COO Chuck McGirt.

The benefits the company expects from the move are plenty.

McGirt said it’s a good way to introduce contractors to May Heavy Equip.

“If we can get our foot in the door, we’ll be their first call for a rental because we’re their service people,” he said.

Additionally, McGirt said its allows May to provide a broader service to its current rental customers. Since the May technician is already dealing with the rental machine, “why not have him work on their other stuff, too?”

The service department has 20 employees, including technicians based in its branches in Lexington, N.C., and Columbia, S.C., and field technicians based in Raleigh, Kings Mountain, and Charlotte, N.C., and the Charleston, S.C., area. Each branch is overseen by a service manager — Ronnie Yeats in North Carolina and Stephen Davis in South Carolina.

The 2-year-old Columbia branch’s shop “was built to handle more than just our rental fleet,” McGirt said.

And the new Lexington branch, expected to open by the start of 2010, will have 13 bays.

The service department currently runs seven service trucks and soon expects to add two more.

With a renewed emphasis on the service department, McGirt said the company has to make sure to hire the right people for the job.

“We want them to have the ability and the know-how to work on all types of equipment,” he said.

When it’s a field technician, McGirt said May seeks someone who is self-motivated and will be able to be his own manager in the field.

Helping to promote the expanded service department is Customer Service Sales Manager Matt Brooks, who had been a salesman at May since 2003. He will call on customers with their regular salesperson and work on generating new leads.

For more information, visit www.mayequip.com. CEG Staff

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